Privilege

When:

Why:

According to some commentators, an IRS official waived her Fifth Amendment privileges by declaring her innocence during a congressional hearing about the targeting of Tea Party groups.

For example, as CNN reported,

"'She just testified. She just waived her Fifth Amendment right to privilege,' South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, said to applause during Wednesday's hearing. 'You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross-examination. That's not the way it works.'"

Privilege means "a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor." It comes from the Latin words for "private" and "law," and referred to a law either against or for a private person.